Tempe’s city council election has produced one clear winner and set the stage for a competitive runoff this spring, with final unofficial results released Friday night showing only incumbent Arlene Chin earning enough votes to secure her seat outright.
Chin led the field with 11,821 votes — roughly 18.6 percent of all ballots cast — surpassing the majority threshold required under Tempe’s city charter for an outright win. The threshold is calculated by dividing total votes by the number of open seats, then dividing that figure in half, meaning a candidate needed to clear a specific numerical bar that could only be confirmed once all ballots were counted. Chin was the only one to do it.
The remaining two of three open council seats will be decided in a May 19th runoff. The four candidates advancing are Brooke St. George, Berdetta Hodge, Bobby Nichols and Jennifer Adams — who finished second through fifth respectively. The top two vote-getters among that group on May 19th will join Chin on the council.
Of the four runoff candidates, three are familiar faces. Adams, Hodge and Chin are all incumbents, while St. George is a challenger who finished a strong second in the primary with just over 10,200 votes.
Voter turnout for the election stood at 28.26 percent, with 24,275 ballots counted in total. The results remain unofficial until the council formally canvasses the vote, currently scheduled for its regular meeting on March 26th. Newly elected members will be sworn in during the July 1st council meeting.
